Machine for operating on soles



Feb. 4, l941.- E. E. WiNKLEY 2,230,368

MACHINE FOR OPERATING ON SOLES Original Filed Jan. 24, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l Tig].

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Feb.'4, 1941. E. E. WINKLEY MACHINE FOR OPERATING 0N SOLES Original Filed-Jan. 24, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 4, 1941. E, E. WINKLEY 2,23

MACHINE FOR OPERATING ON SOLES Original Filed Jan. 24, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Tigll). 64 i v Imnenfor W5, MW

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Patented Feb. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOROPERATING N SOLES Jersey Original application January 24, 1938, Serial No.

Divided and this application Decemher 22, 1938, Serial No. 247,241

Claims.

This invention relates to machines for operating on soles and is illustrated herein as embodied in a machine of the type disclosed in Let- K ters Patent of the United States No. 1,939,750,

5 granted December 19, 1933, in the name of E. E.

Winkley, this application being a division of'a copending application Serial No. 186,585, filed January 24, 1938.

The present invention is concerned more particularly with machines for shaping soles adapted for use in making shoes having close edges, the soles being characterized by a central, bulged portion which, upon being depressed against the shoe bottom after the sole is permanently attached to the shoe, provides a sufficient surplus of sole material to enable the margins of the sole to be bent into close contact with the upper and to obviate any tendency for the sole edge to separate from the upper during the use of the shoe. In View of the foregoing and in accordance with one of its features, the invention provides forms having intramarginal recesses, the forms being adapted to clamp therebetween portions of a sole bordering upon its area within the recesses, and a bulging member movable into the recesses to displace the unclamped portion of the sole with respect to its clamped marginal portions beyond its normal transverse curvature to form a bulge in the sole.

As herein illustrated, the width of the bulging member and recesses in the forms progressively diminishes from a maximum at points corresponding to the junction of the shank and forepart of a sole Where the greatest surplus of sole material is desired toward their ends. However, it is to be understood that the relative widths of different parts of the bulging member and the recesses and their shape in general may be made according to the requirements for excess sole material demanded by the particular type of shoe in which the sole is to be used.

Preferably, and as herein illustrated, this bulging member is constituted by a plunger which is angularly adjustable so that it may be made to operate either upon only a limited area of the \1 sole, such as that at the junction of the shank and forepart, or upon a larger area of which the first mentioned area may be a part.

Other features of the invention reside in the construction of the forms, one of which has a lip or lips arranged to displace the unclamped area of the sole into the recess of the other form to form a bulge in the sole without the help of the bulging member referred to above in case a slightly or moderately bulged sole is desired.

The illustrated forms embodying certain of the above mentioned features may, in accordance with another feature of the invention, be so shaped as to impart a break to the sole at the junction of the shank and forepart and to impart the desired longitudinal curvature to the shank.

These and other features of the'invention, including various novel constructions and arrangements. of parts, will appear more fully from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of an illustrative machine adapted toutilize sole shaping instrumentalities provided by the invention;

Fig-.2 is a plan view of a part of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 associated with the lower form;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view illustrating the relation between a sole and the sole shaping instrumentalities when the. latter are in their operative positions;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View, the section being taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is, a sectional view, the section being taken along theline VV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is av sectional view, the section being 5 taken along the line VIVI in Fig. 3;

Fig. 'l is a side elevation of a lasted shoe partly in section illustrating the relation between a sole as shaped by the use of the structure illustrated in the foregoing figures and the shoe bottom prior to; the leveling operation;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a part of the shoe illustrated in Fig. 7 the section being taken along the line VIII-VIII in Fig. 7

Fig. 9.is a sectional elevation illustrating the u adjustment of one of the sole bulging members whereby its action may be confined to the portion of the sole at the junction of the shank and iorepart;

Fig. 10 is a sectional elevation illustrating an the use of the alternative shaping mechanism and the shoe bottom before the shoe is leveled, and

Fig. 14 is a sectional view of the shoe illustrated in Fig. 13, the section being taken across the forepart after the leveling operation.

A machine of the type in which the present invention is illustrated herein as embodied is completely disclosed in the Winkley Patent No. 1,939,750 referred to above, to which reference may be made for a complete description of corresponding parts in the present machine referred to below and accordingly only such parts of the .machine as are necessary for an understanding of the invention will be described herein. Parts of the illustrated machine which will be readily identified in the above-mentioned Winkley patent comprise tables l0, 12 above which are mounted for movement toward and away therefrom clamps l4, l6, these tables and clamps in the illustrated machine being arranged, as in the patented machine, to hold nove1 lower and upper forms It and Z0, which as will be more fully described below, are adapted to grip a sole and to form or to contribute to the formation of a bulge in an intramarginal portion of the sole clamped between them. The lower form I8 has integral forepart, shank and heel part portions and is rigidly supported against the pressure of the upper form. 20 by the tables l and I2.

A sole to be operated upon is placed grain side down on a rubber blanket 22 covering the upper surface of the form l8 with the edge of the sole in contact with gages 24, 26 and 28 (Fig. 2) which indicate the desired position of the sole both lengthwise and widthwise of the form. At this time, as will be understood by reference to the above-mentioned Winkley patent, the form l8 occupies a position below and in front of the form for the sake of convenience to the operator in placing soles on the form I8. Upon treadling the machine, the form I8 is swung to a position directly underneath the form 20 and then the clamps l4 and I6 descend together to cause the form 20 to exert a clamping pressure against the sole. Shortly thereafter a plunger 30 having connected thereto a novel bulge forming member 32 by means of pivotal connections, similar to those to be found in the above Winkley machine, is moved downwardly through a recess 34 in the form 20 to displace the portion of the sole included within the recess into another similar recess 36 in the lower form l8, thereby forming a bulge in the sole as will be more fully described hereinafter.

Since it is diihcult to obtain a close edge in a shoe, particularly at a point just behind the junction of the forepart and shank, it is desirable to form the bulge in at least the part of the sole which is opposite to the above-mentioned part of the sole edge. Because the boundary between the shank and the forepart is generally in the shape of a V the vertex of which is behind the boundary at the sole edge, the above-mentioned requirement as to the position of the bulge is satisfied by forming the bulge in the central part of the sole somewhat behind the ball line in the vicinity of the junction of the shank and forepart. Accordingly, the recesses 34, 36 through which the bulging member 32 is moved, extend into the vicinity of the junction of the forepart and shank of a sole properly located therebetween, and the width of the recesses, which is the greatest at this point, progressively diminishes toward the middle of the shank portions of the forms The recesses 34, 36 of the forms illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 extend rearwardly thereof to a point corresponding substantially to the heel breast line of the sole, the width of the recesses progressively increasing slightly from the middle of the shank portions of the forms rearwardly. Thus, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, the contour of the recesses as viewed in plan conforms generally to the contour of the sole edge, the marginal portions of the form bordering upon the recesses providing supporting or clamping surfaces for the marginal portions of the sole shank with respect to which the unsupported central portion within the recesses is displaced to form a bulge, as will presently be described. Transversely of the lower form l8 the shape of its marginal supporting surfaces varies from a relatively abrupt curvature at the rear portion of the shank, as indicated by Fig. 6, to more gradual curvatures toward its forward end, as indicated by Figs. 4 and 5.

The upper form 20 is provided with downwardly extending lips 38 bordering upon the forward portion of the recess 34 and the lower surfaces of which are substantially complementary to the opposite surfaces of the form I8, as indicated in Fig. 4, whereby a certain preliminary bulging effect is produced in the sole in the vicinity of the junction between the forepart and shank when clamping pressure is applied to the sole. The shank portions of the forms I8, 20 are curved longitudinally, as indicated by Fig. 1, so as to impart the desired longitudinal curvature to the shank of the sole, and, owing to the jog between the shank and forepart portions of the forms, a corresponding shape is imparted to the sole which is referred to hereinafter as the break in the sole which is necessary to make it fit the shoe bottom because of the usual angle between the forepart and shank portions of the shoe bottom.

The lowermost portions of the lips 38 which first engage the sole, as well as the highest parts of the shank portion of the lower forms l8 and 44, are in each case disposed at the same level and these parts of each form also are directly opposite each other, that is, at the same distance from an end of the form. Similarly, the shoulders at the junction of the shank and heel parts of the upper forms 20 and 50 extend directly, rather than obliquely, across the forms and are at the same level at all points. Hence, the above-mentioned parts of the forms engage the sole along parallel lines extending transversely of the sole and except for the portion of the sole which is bulged, or partially bulged by the lips 38, the sole is bent so that all lines extending directly across it are parallel to each other during and at the end of the downward movement of the upper forms 20 and 50. Thus, any tendency of the swing of the sole to be altered, as would occur by bending it along a line extending obliquely across it, is avoided.

A sole now having been clamped between the forms l8 and 20, the plunger 30 is lowered to cause the bulging member 32 to displace the portion of the sole within the recesses with respect to the clamped portions of the sole beyond its normal transverse curvature in a finished shoe, as indicated in Figs. 7 and 8, to form a bulge in the sole. The member 32 comprises a central web 40 the width of which progressively increases from its mid portion toward its ends which are relatively bulbous, the peripheral or side and end surfaces of the member 32 being substantially parallel to the contour of the recesses34, 36. The longitudinal curvature of the lower surface of the member 32 is concavely curved substantially parallel to the longitudinal curvature of the forms 18, 29' except at the forward end of the member 32 where it is considerably lower than elsewhere relatively to the upper surface of the lips 38 so that the heightwise extent of the bulge in the sole is greater in the vicinity of the junction of the shankand'forepart than elsewhere when the member 32 is in its normal position of adjustment, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

It will now be observed that the bulge in the sole is formed without substantially stretching or flexing the marginal portions of the shank surrounding the bulged portion whereby the former portions of the sole are left in a better condition than they otherwise would be to be bent into close contact with the: shoe upper when the bulge is flattened by the leveling operation.

The desired angular relation between the bulging member 32 and the forms 18, 20 is obtained by an adjustment comprising a screw 42 the head of which is arranged to engage a shoulder 43 on the plunger 30 and which is threaded into the member 32. Thus. by turning the screw 42 in or out of the member 32 the latter may be swung with respect to the plunger 38 into the desired angular relation to the forms.

This adjustment may be employed, as indicated in Fig. 9, to adapt the machine for forming a bulge in the sole only in the vicinity of the junction of the forepart and shank, or by changing this adjustment any variation between the conditions represented by Figs. 3 and 9 may be obtained. Fig. 9 illustrates the member 32 as having been swung toward the extremity of its possible counterclockwise movement with respect to the plunger 3ilby turning the screw 42 out of the member 32. As a result of this adjustment assuming that the machine has also been adjusted, as explained in the abovementioned Winkley patent, to terminate the downwardmovement of the member 32- as soon as its rear portion reaches the sole, only the forward bulbous end of the member 32 has any appreciable effect upon the sole thereby providing a sole having a bulge which is limited substantially to the area of the vicinity of the junction of the forepart and shank.

By the use of the structure described above, a bulge may be formed in a sole only at the junction of the fcrepart of the shank or the bulge may, depending upon theadjustment oi the bulging member 32, be made to extend from the ball line of the sole rearwardly thereof as far as may be desired toward or to the heel breast line. In some types of shoes however, such, for example, as those having French edges (Figs. 13 and 14), it may be desirable to have the bulge in the sole extend forwardly of the ball line well into the forepart. The term French edge as employed herein is intended to refer to the close joint between the upper and the sole edge of a shoe, the margin of the sole of which has been bent definitely out of the plane of the remainder of the shoe bottom so as to close the gap commonly known as the welt crease" as applied to a welt shoe.

For the production of bulged soles of the type referred to'above; the invention provides mechanism comprising a form 44 adapted to be supported by the tables In and 12 the shank and heel part of which form are substantially like the corresponding parts of the form It. The form 44 also has an intramarginal recess 46 in its shank portion similar to the recess 36 in the form l8. The forepart of the form 4.4 has a recess 48 the depth of which progressively increases rearwardly of the fcrm and the margins ofwhich merge with the rounded surfaces of the shank portions of the form which border upon the recess 46. As illustrated in Fig. 11 the contour of the edge of the recess as in plan is substantially parallel to the sole edge although exactness in this relation is not essential. An upperform iii] carried by the clamps It. and IS and having a shank and heel partsimilar to those of the form 2% is arranged to cooperate with the lower form 44 to grip theheel-part ofthe sole and a marginal area of the sole bordering upon the recesses it and S8 of the form 44. After a sole has been gripped between the forms i i and 5B the plunger "3!! and bulging member 32 are lowered toform a bulge in the sole as described above and the central portion of the forepart of .the sole is displaced into the recess 48 by mechanism which will now be described. This operation on the forepart of the sole is effected by a pressing element or pad 52 the sole engaging surface of which is substantially complementary to the shape of the recess =i8-the pad being hinged on a pin 5d to the form 55. The pad 52 is operated uring the latter part of the downward movement of the plunger 30 by connections comprising a rod 56 pivoted at 58 to the rear end of the pad 5 2 and at its upper end is guided so as to have a substantially vertical movement by a strap Eli which is fixed to the upper surface of the form til. As the bulging member 32 approaches the sole the upper end of the rod 56 is engaged by a screw 62 which, to permit its vertical adjustment, is threaded in an arm fi l mounted on the plunger 39 by means of a screw (it.

striking the rod 5% in case it is desired not to operate the pad 52, and by the adjustment of the screw 62 the pad may be moved downwardly to any required extent. A spring 58 connecting the pad and the form 50 is arranged normally tourge the form in a counterclockwise direction away from the form M.

It will now be apparent that by the use of the structure illustrated in Figs. 10, 11 and 12, a sole may be produced having a bulge confined to the forepart as a result of adjusting the screw 52 so that when the plunger 30 is at the lower extremity of its movement the pad 52 is operated The arm B4 is adapted to be freely swung, so asto avoid to press the portion of the sole into the recessst. In this case, it will be necessary to limit the travel of the plunger 30 (by making the adjustment referred to above) so that the bulging member 32 does not engage the sole. Similarly, as in the case of the use of the forms of the type illustrated in Fig. 3, the bulging member may be angularly adjusted with respect to the plunger 30 so as to operate in conjunction with the pad 52 only at the junction of the forepart and shank.

Then too, by employing the bulging member 32 in its normal position of adjustment, such as that illustrated in Fig. 10 in connection with the pad 52, the sole will be provided with a bulge extending from the heel breast line substantially to the toe end of the sole. type is illustrated in Fig. 13 as applied to the bottom of a shoe which is to have French edges, and which as illustrated by Fig. 14, are formed by bending a narrow marginal area of the sole rather sharply with respect to the central portion of the sole into close contact with the adjacent A sole of the latter I portions of the upper. This bending of the margins of the sole is greatly facilitated by the excess of sole material which is made available when the bulged portion of the sole in the forepart is pressed into contact with the shoe bottom during the leveling operation.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for shaping soles, forms mounted for movement relatively to each other to clamp a sole therebetween, said forms being shaped and arranged to impart a longitudinal curvature to the shank of the sole and having intramarginal recesses, and a bulging member mounted for movement into said recesses to displace the area of the sole bordered thereby in order to form a bulge in the sole.

2. In a machine for shaping soles, forms mounted for movement relatively to each other to clamp a sole therebetween, one of said forms having an intramarginal recess the sides of which border upon a central unclamped area of the sole, the other of said forms having lips arranged to displace the unclamped central area of the sole into the recess of the first-mentioned form thereby to produce a bulge in the sole in excess of its normal transverse curvature.

3. In a machine for shaping soles, forms mounted for movement relatively to each other and shaped to clamp portions of the fore and heel parts of a sole and marginal portions of its shank extending between the clamped portions of its fore and heel parts, a central portion of the shank between the marginal portions thereof being unclamped, said forms being shaped and arranged to impart a transverse curvature to the marginal portions of the shank in excess of its normal transverse curvature so as to form a longitudinal bulge in the central portion of the shank.

4. In a machine for shaping soles, forms mounted for movement relatively to each other to clamp and shape a sole therebetween, said forms being shaped and arranged to clamp portions of the fore and heel parts of the sole and to displace marginal portions of the shank extending between the clamped portions of the fore and heel parts beyond their normal transverse curvature to cause an initial bulging of the central portion of the sole between the said marginal portions, and means for displacing the said central portion of the sole with respect to the clamped marginal portions to form a bulge therein the transverse curvature of which is substantially in excess of the normal transverse curvature of the sole.

5. In a machine for shaping soles, forms mounted for movement relatively to each other to clamp a sole therebetween, said forms having intramarginal recesses the sides of which border upon an unclamped area of the sole including the junction of the forepart and shank, said forms being shaped and arranged to form a break in the sole at the junction of the forepart and shank, and a member movable into said recesses to displace the unclamped area of the sole in the vicinity of said break beyond its normal transverse curvature thereby to form a bulge in the sole.

6. In a machine for shaping soles, forms mounted for movement relatively to each other to clamp a sole therebetween, one of said forms having an intramarginal recess and a portion curved convexly corresponding to the longitudinal curvature .of the sole shank, the other form having laterally spaced lips arranged to displace the area of the sole bordered by the recess of the first-mentioned form. into said recess, said lips and the convexly curved portion of the first-mentioned form being shaped and arranged to engage the sole along substantially parallel lines.

7. In a machine for shaping soles, forms mounted for movement relatively to each other to clamp a sole therebetween, said forms having intramarginal recesses the sides of which border upon a central unclamped area of the sole shank extending across the junction of the forepart and shank, and a bulging member mounted for movement into said recesses to form a bulge in the unclamped portion of the sole, said member having bulbous and web portions adapted to operate respectively upon the sole at the junction of the shank and forepart and in the shank.

8. In a machine for shaping soles, forms mounted for movement relatively to each other to clamp therebetween the portions of a sole bordering upon a central unclamped area thereof including an intramarginal portion of the shank extending across the junction of the forepart and the shank, a member mounted for movement to displace the unclamped area of the sole beyond its normal transverse curvature, and means for adjusting the angular relation between said forms and member longitudinally thereof so as to cause said member to operate only upon the portion of the unclamped area of the sole at the junction of the shank and forepart.

9. In a machine for shaping soles, forms mounted for movement relatively to each other to clamp a sole therebetween, said forms being shaped and arranged to clamp the heel part of the sole and the margins of the shank and forepart, the central portions of the forepart and shank being unclamped, a pressing element associated with one of said forms and mounted for movement into engagement with the unclamped portion of the forepart, and a bulging member mounted and arranged to engage the unclamped portion of the shank, said element and member being movable together to displace the unclamped area of the sole beyond its normal transverse curvature.

10. In a machine for shaping soles, forms mounted for movement relatively to each other to clamp a sole therebetween, said forms being shaped and arranged to clamp the' heel part of the sole and marginal portions of the forepart and shank, a central portion of the forepart and shank being unclamped, one of said forms having a hinged element mounted for movement into engagement with the unclamped portion of the forepart, a bulging member mounted and arranged to engage the unclamped portion of the shank, and means for operating said element and member to displace the unclamped area of the sole beyond its normal transverse curvature thereby to form a bulge in the sole.

ERASTUS E. WINKLEY. 

